FEBRUARY 15, 1901.] 
passage of this Act no appointments shall be made of 
such professors unless required for service at the 
Naval Academy. 
Section 4, That there shall be a Board of Visitors 
of the National Observatory, to consist of one Senator, 
one member of the House of Representatives, and 
three astronomers of eminence, to be selected by the 
Secretary of the Navy. The Board of Visitors shall 
make an annual visitation, or more frequent visita- 
tions, of the Observatory, advise with the Director 
thereof as to the scientific work to be prosecuted, and 
report to the Secretary of the Navy on the work and 
needs of the Observatory on or before the first day of 
November in each year. The members of the said 
Board may receive an allowance not exceeding ten 
dollars per day each during their actual presence in 
the City of Washington while engaged on the duty 
of the Board and their necessary traveling expenses ; 
but no officer of the Government appointed on the 
Board shall receive any additional compensation for 
such duty above his actual expenses. 
THE REORGANIZATION OF THE DEPART- 
MENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
THE Agricultural Appropriation Bill, as pre 
sented to the Committee of the Whole of the 
House of Representatives, contained provisions 
for the reorganization of the Department of 
Agriculture, which we much regret were after- 
wards withdrawn, owing to the point of order 
being raised that new legislation had been at- 
tached to an appropriation bill. It is well- 
known that the salaries in the Department are 
too small, and that the Government is constantly 
losing the services of its trained scientific men. 
Thus Dr. Loew received a salary of $1,800 in 
the Department of Agriculture, and has now 
accepted a position under the Japanese Goy- 
ernment at a salary of $7,000. The plan pro- 
posed by the Committee on Agriculture would 
have created four new bureaus, the chiefs of 
which would have received a salary of $3,500 
a year, and who would have been the chiefs of 
divisions who now receive $2,500 a year, and 
SCIENCE. 
277 
the salaries of the other scientific experts would 
have been increased by sums varying from $200 
“to $500 each. The total increase in salaries 
would have been $26,000. 
this plan the Secretary of Agriculture, the Hon. 
James Wilson, wrote to the Chairman of the 
Committee on Agriculture, the Hon. J. W. 
In recommending 
Wadsworth, on January 15th, as follows: 
Having gone over with care the proposed plan for 
the reorganization of the Department of Agriculture, 
I am pleased to state that it has my entire approval. 
The grouping together of scientists in kindred lines 
of work will enable us to bring to bear on each sub- 
ject considered and on each undertaking before it is 
begun the experience of all the division chiefs inter- 
ested, avoiding duplication of work, which quite fre- 
quently occurs under our present divisional system, 
and in that regard will enable us to economize. 
The salaries as proposed are not in excess of what 
is paid to scientists doing like work in educational and 
experiment station institutions throughout the coun- 
try, and are, in fact, much below the salaries paid by 
many institutions in the land that seek men of the 
The 
work now being carried on by this Department and 
greatest experience and highest attainments. 
the amount of money being expended by Congress 
justify the employment of the foremost scientists in 
every line. 
We are not able to retain our best men at the pres- 
ent time. Other countries, as well as home institu- 
tions, take them away from us by offering more 
mouey than our statutory salaries. If is were pos- 
sible for this Department to go to the country, 
through the Civil Service Commission, and get scien- 
tists well informed regarding the work we are doing 
for the farmers, the loss of a man now and again 
would not be so serious. 
But this Department is compelled, in many of its 
divisions, to educate its own men. When they leave 
us, on account of getting better pay elsewhere, our 
work in some cases stops until new men can ke trained, 
I therefore sincerely hope that you will succeed in 
having the proposed rearrangement enacted into law. 
It will do much to facilitate our work, and I believe 
will in the end be economical. 
